As the Olympic torch reached Milan on Thursday, anticipation rippled through the city in waves, both jubilant and uneasy. Pride at hosting the Winter Olympics sits alongside quieter anxieties about rising costs, tightened security and geopolitical tension.
Milan is no stranger to spectacle. Fashion Week routinely transforms the city into a runway for the world. The Salone del Mobile design fair floods hotels each spring. Hosting the Games is meant to be a natural extension of that international identity – proof the city can blend culture, commerce and sport on the grandest stage.
But the Olympics carry a different type of emotional weight. They promise a sense that the world is paying attention for reasons larger than points or scorelines. Everyone expects something deeper than an impeccably choreographed global event. They want meaning. That expectation – part hope, part burden – rests on the opening ceremony.
View image in fullscreen The Olympic flame will be lit at the Arco della Pace (Arch of Peace), which was built on the orders of Napoleon. Photograph: Jasper Jacobs/Belga/Shutterstock
“It’s a bit early; the Olympic spirit among us will grow once things start in earnest,” said the Italian pair skater Rebecca Ghilardi on t
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